Silver Shadow
by oij
Summary: A reposting of SS in a more readable form. This is Pokemon G/S...Seen through eyes of your rival...
1. Chapter 1

((Warning: This story does contain violence. "Riding the Rocket" copyright Shonen Knife.))

Dawn was breaking over Johto.

The sun rose in the east, reaching out with her fingers of light across the island. 

Light fell upon the town of Blackthorn, awakening the Dragon Trainer from her rest before moving on.

At the Tin Tower of Ecruteak, a massive, multi-colored bird spread it's rainbow wings to take in the light, gazed imperiously across Johto through its big, kaleidoscopic eyes.

"_Keerah_!"

It voiced the dawning of a new day.

The sun reached her golden fingers over New Bark Town, shining into Professor Utsugi's lab where three Pokeballs waited for young, blossoming trainers on an oaken desk.

She reached into the Kogane household, caressed the cheek of the sleeping Hiro.

__

Come, Hiro, awaken, a new day has begun!

The sun drew away and continued her journey.

In the thick of beech trees just south of New

Bark Town there was a single house untouched by the light.

A woman stood in the window gazing forlornly at the Pidgey roosting in the bird-feeder. She had ruby gold hair tied up in a high pony tail.

"Hey, woman! Have you made breakfast yet!?"

The sharp, barking voice belonged to her husband. Slowly, she turned and lifted her gaze to Mr. Hoshi Shiruba.

"No, I haven't. There is no food to be had in the house."

"PERHAPS IF SOMEONE SHOPPED ONCE IN A WHILE!"

She winced, "I haven't got the time, koishii, I've been looking after your son!"

Shiruba loosened his belt, then pulled it off completely and advanced on her with it.

"My boy is none of your concern, wench!"

The thin light coming through the trees reflected off the belt buckle as it flew through the air.

*Crack*

She drew back with a bloody lip. What had ever made her marry this person!?

These events did not go unseen by the teenage boy in the corner. He was sitting back in his chair, his black hi-tops on the table his eyes closed.

..._Woman beater_!...

The boy turned up the volume on his discman and meditated on the tunes of Shonen Knife, trying to drown out the sounds of his step-mother's wailing.

"*sob* Please, Shiruba...your boy..."

*Crack*

__

Riding on the rocket I wanna go to Pluto

Space foods are marshmallows, asparagus, ice cream

Blue eyed kitty cat said, "Please let me go with you"

Iko, iko everybody let's go

Iko, iko everybody let's go

Iko, iko everybody iko

Mercury Venus Jupiter Saturn Mars

Uranus Neptune Pluto and planet Earth

"Please, koishii, stop!"

__

Getting in radio communication

"Hello, Hello"

Earth is like a little star, "Hello Hello"

Shaking her hip, blue eyed cat dances the mambo

Uka boo, uka boo everybody uka boo

Uka boo, uka boo, space walk, uka boo

Uka boo, uka boo, let's do the uka boo

Floating through space with you it's a dance party

Floating through space let's drink to the planet Earth

*Crack*

"Agh!"

"...chikushou..."

The boy opened his eyes and turned down the volume on Shonen Knife.

"Stopit, Hoshi! Let her be!"

There. He had spoken. He knew what was coming. Shiruba ceased his beatings on the woman and rained them down upon Niiro, his son.

Niiro took the first few blows with stoic silence, then his body shuddered and shrunk away from the flying fist.

"And as for you!" Shiruba thundered, "Skinny little worthless thing! You shouldn't be just moping around the house like this!"

"Why not?" asked the step-mother, "I do."

He ignored her. 

"Maybe if you actually got up off your zaseki for a moment and got a job-"

"Why don't YOU get a job, Hoshi!?"

Niiro received a blow for this that rattled his senses. He drooped to the floor like a wilting flower.

"What was it you said you wanted to be-iA Pokemon Trainer/i!?

Feh, I'll have no son of mine doing any such thing!"

"Koishii, please-"

"Shut up, fujoshi..."

Niiro's head spun.

"Why not allow him to be a trainer?"

"One out of every thirty people in the world are chosen to take the Gym Challenge, do you honestly believe that my brat stands a chance!?"

Niiro felt sick.

"I think he deserves to have a chance."

"What do you know!? This kid is worthless!"

Niiro wished he was dead.

"You don't even notice him, how do you know he is worthless!?"

"I _do_ want to be a trainer, daifu..."

This caused him to receive a powerful kick to the ribs. It would have sent him to the floor had he not already been there.

It was true, though, Hoshi didn't notice him.

One time, at a bar, a group of men had started harassing Niiro for his nearly feminine beauty. Niiro had exploded on them in spitting fury. They backed off. Hoshi never even looked up.

Niiro opened his eyes and stored his discman away in one of the deep pockets of his jeans. 

He made for the door.

"Where are you going!?" Hoshi snapped.

"The streets."

He slammed out. Behind him, he heard the step-mother yell something but he paid it no attention and the sounds from the house were eventually drowned out by singing Pidgeys.

The streets of New Bark Town were much more accepting of his presence than his home had ever been or ever would be. They didn't complain about his ways of life.

Unpleasant memories echoed through his mind, memories that didn't want to die. Niiro wrestled with them and knew...he was leaving home, but he wasn't ever going back.

The boy found his feet leading him to the Utsugi Pokemon Lab. He paused outside the white washed door.

If he were to go in, would he be thrown out again? Would they give him a Pokemon companion if he asked for one? Unlikely. The Pokemon were probably reserved for trainers sought out by the lab. He was knocked from his reverie as the door opened.

Niiro darted like a Pikachu around to the side of the building, hid beneath the window, behind the sign.

The individual leaving the building was one of the only three scientists who worked there, and he was stepping out to greet someone.

"Uerukamu, Hiro. Utsugi will see you now."

Niiro felt his long, red hair stand on end.

Hiro Kogane!

He knew the boy from the High School. Hiro was the president of the Math Club, president of the Class of 2002, and captain of the Track Team. He got straight As. He was perfect. He was a chump. Niiro despised him

He had only met Hiro face to face twice, and both times had been in the corridors. It was hard for Niiro to encounter perfect students, being as far from one as possible himself. While Kogane was laughing with his peers or tutoring a classmate, Niiro was in the principal's office with his feet on the desk, explaining.

Yes, he was sent here for disrupting class....again...

Yup, he _did_ start that food fight in the B-lunch block.

Yeah, he slugged that freckled boy who sat in front of him.

Why? 'Cuz he had pissed him off, that's why.

It disgusted Niiro that Hiro could become a trainer based upon academics alone. Kogane could not have possibly gone through as much crap in life as he had. He was stronger than Hiro. He deserved to be a Pokemon Trainer. He iwould/i be a Pokemon Trainer!

Niiro came back to reality and stood so he could see, through the window, the small lab.

"So this is Utsugi's Pokemon Lab...," he mused aloud. All things considering, it wasn't much. There were several computers and rows of bookshelves but not much else. 

Except..._someone was looking right at him_!

He lifted his forest green eyes and found himself meeting the brown gaze of Hiro Kogane, who was standing there, next to the sign, with a Chikorita on his head.

"???"

"What are _you_ looking at!"

Before his mind could halt his actions, Niiro found himself gripping Hiro by the collar, he sneered, and threw him away like a wet rag.

Hiro slid a small ways, then scrambled off into the wood towards Cherrygrove City.

Niiro turned back to the window, and was lost in thought...


	2. Chapter 2

****

Chapter 2

__

When the Sun is setting and the Moon is rising, the world seems to be in perfect balance.

The Pidgey curl their beaks under their wings and doze off as the HootHoot awaken, blink their huge eyes and gingerly shift their weight from foot to foot.

It was to the West that the Moon's light first fell, embracing the Whirl Islands and awakening the creature that slept beneath them.

It reared its head above the waves and the Moon reflected off of its pale eyes.

It announced its presence to the world. 

"Nguaaarrraaaa!"

***I am***

...~...

Pavlov had once said that if one will have a people expect nothing, then the littlest something will have them all excited. One had to wonder if he'd ever been to New Bark Town.

New Bark was the definition of small-town suburbia. Everyone there knew each other by name, and news spread as quickly as wildfire.

It had started with a delivery boy who had heard a crash at the Lab, looking up, he saw a window had been smashed from the outside and his brain filled in the rest. Somebody had broken in. The boy raced home to tell his mother and his friends. 

Somewhere along the line, it had been announced that a Cyndaquil had been stolen, which gave rise to the next rumour: The unknown thief had unleashed the Cyndaquil and commanded it to use Ember attack, thus igniting the Lab into flames.

This rumour proved to be false as the Lab building itself was fine.

Professor Utsugi said that what actually happened, though awful, could have been worse. Noone was hurt except, perhaps, for the thief, a red-haired male, who jumped through a closed window, breaking it. By the time Utsugi looked up, Cyndaquil's Pokeball was gone and so was the boy.

The Police Force was stumped. The youth left no tracks, a fact that defied any logical explanation, for he had fled into the beech wood. Beeches were tall, cold, elegant trees; nothing grew beneath them. There was no cover in the New Bark Woods. There never had been. So, unless he had _flown_ away, where did he go?

__

Run!

Niiro's feet lightly touched the ground as he raced through the woods, purposefully back-tracking on himself to confuse any who might attempt to follow him. He moved so swiftly that it seemed he was soaring. 

His heart raced.

__

What an adrenaline rush!

Once he was convinced that a sufficient amount of space had been laid between himself and New Bark Town, Niiro stopped for rest.

He leaned up against a tree to allow his heart rate to slow, and withdrew the strange, golf-ball sized object he had stolen.

"Hmmm"

He pressed the button, expanding the size of the Pokeball, and pointed it towards the ground.

"Come on out, whoever you are!"

The red beam shot out and a creature materialized at its end. It was a small, black and tan echidna-like being with fire glands along its back.

It looked up him through intelligent black eyes.

"Cynda! Cynda!"

Niiro bent down and picked up the Cyndaquil. It was female.

"I hope you're strong," he said to her, "The weak never make it. My mother was weak, she died giving birth to me."

"Quiiiilll!"

Cyndaquil gave a cry of lament as the crimson beam pulled her into her spherical container again. Niiro closed his eyes.

*Rustle*

There!

"Did he go this way!? How can you be sure, there are barely any tracks!"

Niiro opened his eyes again. The cops. They weren't as dumb as they seemed, then. But he didn't feel like running anymore, his arms and thighs were still bleeding from his overblown, dramatic entrance into the Utsugi Labs. He knew that if they found him, though, they'd pop him back into Juvenile Lock-Up. He didn't fancy going back there. The thought made his cuts hurt all over again.

"Yes, I am certain he came this way."

Geeze, they never give up, do they? Niiro lifted his head, drew away from the tree, and shot of again at a break-neck speed.

As he passed through into Cherrygrove City, Niiro slammed right into the last person in the world that he wanted to see.

There was an impact followed by a sudden tangle of limbs on the ground.

"Chika!"

"Chikorita! Are you okay!?"

Hiro bent down and cradled his Pokemon, completely ignoring the red-haired youth sprawled out on the ground.

"It's fine," growled Niiro as he sat up, rubbing his forehead. The fall re-opened a few of the shallower cuts on his body.

"You again!?"

Hiro rose defensively, Niiro rose to counter him, and both stared into each other's eyes.

"What a waste. A weakling like you! A _Pokemon Trainer_!?"

"I-"

"Don't you get what I'm saying, squirt? I, too, have a powerful Pokemon!"

He withdrew Cyndaquil's Pokeball.

"Cyndaquil, Go!"

Hiro drew himself upright, still not quite matching his rival's height.

"Go Chikorita, use your Razor Leaf Attack!"

Niiro hesitated, he only did Pokemon research locked away in his bedroom with rock music blasting all around, mostly to ward off his unapproving father. What were Cyndaquil's attacks? He made a blind guess.

"Ember Attack, now!"

Cyndaquil lifted her tiny head, "Quiiiiilllllll!" The small burst of flame engulfed Chikorita, sending it sprawling. Hiro raced after it.

"Chiiikaaaaaaaa!"

"Chikorita! No!"

He caught it and cradled it again. Niiro was exasperated.

"Hmph! You call yourself a trainer!? You're worthless! Cyndaquil return!"

The fire echidna was drawn back into its Pokeball.

"You're a monster!" cried Hiro.

Niiro took the defensive, "No, I'm Niiro Shiruba, and I'm going to be the world's most powerful Pokemon Trainer!"

Dogs barked from the woods.

"...And I know what's important. Smell ya later, squirt!"

And like that, Niiro was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

****

Chapter 3

__

Goldenrod was certainly the biggest city in Johto, and, thus, home to all sorts of hooligans and shady figures.

One figure stood, leaning against the side of Akane's Gym with his hands thrust in the deep pockets of his black trench coat.

He was tall and had the appearance of a delicate wineglass. If one were to push him, he would fall and shatter.

His hair was wild, windblown and purple. The fascinating thing was that, people passing him on the street flinched with disease as they walked beneath his blue gaze.

Nobody messed with him, for beneath the frail exterior was a mind of unimaginable power.

A mind that controlled Xatu. 

...~...

Cherrygrove was a city in name only, Niiro decided. If it wasn't located just next to New Bark, it would have been called at town. Everything was a city in comparison to New Bark.

The streets of Cherrygrove were full of smiling young, red faced trainers on their ways to and from Violet City where Hayato and his birds awaited. A Zephyr Badge serving as a reward to any who could defeat them.

Niiro figured that Hiro wouldn't get past the flying-types with his Chikorita. Ever.

But would Niiro get past Cherrygrove?

There was nothing there except for a Diner and a derelict Pokemon Center, so what was keeping him back?

__

...People...

Niiro hated people. Crowds agitated him. If he could get through without murdering someone it would be a big step.

The boy drew a sharp breath and made his way towards the Northward Path that led to Violet City. If the crowds wouldn't let him by then he would ram his elbows into their ribs and let them carry him across.

But crowds according to a citizen of New Bark and crowds according to everyone else were two very different things; the boy made it across town without ever being approached.

Niiro walked along through the knee-high grass that decorated the pathway in some areas.

"Geeze," he muttered to himself, "Does nobody ever mow this thing anymore?"

Then-

"Gaah!"

-Something crashed into his ankle and started crawling up his pant leg.

Shiruba howled with rage and flailed about until he dislodged the problematic Caterpie, which was sent tumbling into the grass.

"Caterpie, huh?" he mused, "They turn into Venomoths!" His knowledge of the facts still needed more work.

"Go, Cyndaquil!"

Niiro tossed out his one Pokemon, "Let's nab this thing, girl! Nail it with your Ember Attack!"

"Quuuuiiiiiiiiiiiilllll!"

Cyndaquil opened her mouth and out came the fire, burning the Caterpie.

"Excellent...," Niiro smirked, "Now, let's catch it! Pokeball, g-...!?!?!"

His voice of enthusiasm died on his lips as he realized that he didn't possess any Pokeballs. In fact, not only did he not possess any, but couldn't buy any either. He didn't have any cash on him at all.

Cyndaquil cowered as she sensed her master start seething.

Green eyes afire with intense rage, Niiro kicked the Caterpie, fieldgoaling it over the grass and into the door of a small cottage.

When the little bug stirred, Niiro snapped at his charge.

"Cyndaquil! Finish that useless thing with a tackle attack! GO!"

The flame echidna raced across the grass, over the rocks, and smashed the Caterpie with everything she had. It fainted and didn't look as if it would ever rise again.

The sudden commotion outside troubled the owner of the cottage, a chubby old man, who opened the door and scowled in Niiro's direction.

"What's going on out here?!?!"

Niiro shot him the death glare from behind the crimson curtain that his hair created around his face.

"Ashikarazu....," he growled.

"Trainers..."

The man retreated into his cottage and Niiro sneered as he continued on his way.

"Cyndaquil, return!"


	4. Chapter 4

****

Chapter 4

__

Kindred spirits were hard to find in the modern day and age. But the man in purple was determined to find his.

His spirit was not of the mortal plane. It was a graceful creature that moved with the rivers and hunted rain droplets by moonlight.

One day, he would find his soul mate.

One day, the Leopard of the Waters would come to him...

...~...

It was hard for somebody as proud as Niiro Shiruba to admit when he had taken a wrong turn.

Niiro refused to say he was lost. The Gods had misplaced him, that must have been it. Not lost. Misplaced.

Unfortunately, he had to ask for directions if he ever hoped to get to Violet City. He hated asking for help. It was a sign of weakness. At least it was in his opinion.

Well, it looked as if it was going to rain soon. He'd better get to the city and quick.

Niiro turned on his high-tops and faced back down the path. Hadn't there been a cottage back there?

Yes, the one in front of which he killed a Caterpie.

Great.

He sneered at his own misfortune and retraced his footprints back to the cottage.

There was tall grass hindering his progress in many areas but the boy with long, red hair eventually made it back. 

He stepped up to the door and rapped on it with his knuckles, heard a rustling on the other side.

The door opened and there was the fat old guy.

"Nani?...Oh...It's you. What's the problem?"

"Lost"

"Trying to get to Violet City, right?"

Niiro refused to even grace this question with a response. With a sigh, the old man walked back into his cottage, leaving the door ajar.

Shiruba, trying his best to be polite, remained rooted outside. Then came the thunder. And the rain.

He was soaked within moments.

__

Oh good...I was feeling too dry...

He had to get shelter. Part of him wanted to dart into the trees and stay there until the storm was over. That meant strength, not having to ask for help from anyone. But his rational side was already calling out to the man in the cottage.

"Gomenkudasai?"

He kicked himself. The old man chuckled, "Sure, sure, my lad. Come on in."

Niiro wrapped his arms about himself and ducked into the cottage, closing the door behind him.

"G...G...Gurache."

"Pardon?"

"THANKS!"

He half-sat, half-landed in a chair at the table in the middle of this one-room abode, with intense ire at himself for asking for hospitality.

"You're a trainer, then?" asked the old man, "I saw you with that Cyndaquil about an hour ago. Where'd you get it?"

"Professor Utsugi."

"Really? Utsugi gave you a Pokemon?"

"Yes," Niiro lied. This guy didn't have to know that he had stolen it.

There was an awkward silence and Niiro attempted to fill it by wringing out his saturated red mane all over the man's table. He heard his reluctant host call to him.

"I'm going to make some tea. You want any?"

"Gomen"

"I'm making you tea."

Niiro sat back in the chair. Stuck together in a cottage, a young thief and an old berry farmer.


	5. Chapter 5

****

Chapter 5

__

The toughest part of life was Pokemon Trainers. Oh, sure, dark-types were one thing but the Trainers viewed themselves as grand and above all others.

Humans.

The genetic fighter disliked humans with a fierce intensity. If humans were fools, and Pokemon served humans, where did that leave him?

He leaned against the side of the cavern and stretched his heavy tail for balance.

...One day

...~...

Niiro definitely did not care about berries. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to sit through his host's prattle. The best the boy could do was stare miserably out the small window at the rain and pretend he was paying attention.

__

There are so many other things I could be doing right now...

"These blue berries," said the old man, making lunch, "can cure a Pokemon of paralysis."

__

Hmmm...If I leave now, I might just make it to Violet City before the Pokemon Center closes...

"Purple berries, now these are fascinating. The berry leaves can cure a toothache! Astounding, eh?"

Niiro looked over his shoulder at the farmer and yawned cavernously, "Hmm?...Oh, hai! Kyoutendouchi! Simply earth-shattering!"

He wasn't even sure what the old man had said. _The ferry leaves on Tuesdays_?

"Don't patronize me, boy!" The ferry man...er...berry farmer took a seat at the table across from Shiruba.

"What do you do for a pastime, then?"

The rain was starting to clear up outside. Niiro could hear its rhythm slowing to a soft ring as opposed to a harsh pounding.

"Well?"

"Nani? I...uhm...What was the question again?"

"I asked what you do for-"

"Hayato!" Niiro suddenly remembered that the Birdmaster owned Violet's Gym. What could he use against flying types?

"Gomen?"

"Neba-maindo...I've gotta leave."

Before the man could even respond, Niiro was out the door. 

The rain had reduced to itself to a drizzle. Shiruba was still getting wet, but it was either bear the moisture or attempt to tolerate the fat guy's nattering for a few more minutes.

Moisture it was then.

The tall grass made sweeping sounds against the denim of Niiro's jeans; no wild Pokemon slowed him down. 

The Weedle and Caterpie had taken shelter beneath the dock leaves and the Pidgey were in their roosts, beaks tucked beneath their wings. All life seemed to cease in the rain with the exception of this wily Pokemon thief. He was not normal. He preferred the storm, weak as it was, over human company.

Several times Niiro stopped his treck to rest beneath a tree and shake rain droplets out of his hair, and several times he sighed and pressed on only to get wet again.

The same family of nurses served in each Pokemon Center across Johto, Kanto, and the Orange Islands. Interestingly, they all had the same name: Joi. In fact, not only did they all have the same name but they were all perfectly identical.

The Nurse Joi of Violet City was tending to some paperwork, leaving her able Chansey at the counter to take patients. 

Suddenly, a saturated youth with long, red hair came in.

"Can I help you?"

The boy stood in the doorway, panting. "Huh?"

Nurse Joi rose from her desk in the back and walked up to stand beside her Chansey.

"I asked if I could help you. Do you have any Pokemon in need of treatment?"

"Non, my Cyndaquil is fine. I just need to be warm and dry again."

He glanced back at the rainy window pointedly.

Joi nodded and looked past Chansey at the far wall. There was a picture there of a boy with long hair ... and a notice:

__

Wanted on the suspect of the breaking and entering of Professor Utsugi's lab.

The nurse cocked her head to one side. "Hmmm..."


	6. Chapter 6

****

Chapter 6

__

The Universe was fabricated from an infinite number of dimensions lying atop each other like the layers of an onion.

Each dimension was nearly identical to the one before it, formed as an individual of one world makes decisions that affect another world.

The very idea of separate, parallel dimensions is often unheard of in human beings. It is all far too much to contemplate.

But just because a human cannot perceive this does not mean that a Pokemon cannot...

The Protector of the Green Heart flew freely between these dimensions, leaving behind eggs in each plane she blessed with her presence.

Flying on fragile, translucent wings that could travel beyond time...

...~...

Niiro awoke to a loud, screaming sound. 

He rubbed sleep from his eyes and sat up; looked around.

Well, he was in the waiting room of the Pokemon Center, stretched upon the couch amidst a heap of magazines. Good, at least he knew that much.

****

Whhhiiiiiiiiieeeeeeerrrrrrrrreeeeeeeerrr!!

He yawned and gazed blearily across the room at the service desk; vacant except for a small, pinkish face looking out from behind it with a cheery grin.

__

Chansey

Niiro shook his head to clear the muck from between his ears and looked out the window. 

There were flashing lights, streaks of blue. He knew what they were before his mind even said the words: "cop car"

A woman in a short, blue skirt was talking with Nurse Joi. 

Officer Junsa.

The Officer Junsas were yet another clan of female workers. Actually, they were all policewomen. They were all named Junsa. They were all perfectly identical...

Shiruba wasn't sure who the patriarch of either the Junsas or the Jois was, but he was certain that whoever it was, that person was seething.

The officer walked towards the building and, finally, the boy's mind arose from its veil of sleep. Officer Junsa was after him! 

Niiro couldn't just run out the door, so he dashed upstairs instead. 

The upper level of the Pokemon Center was a maze of wires, screens, and people wearing thick glasses. Little did he know that this was how the top floor of every Center was.

Up in the back was a monolithic machine that looked like it was purchased at a George Lucas convention. Maybe it was.

Niiro, naturally, _had_ to get a look at this thing. He walked up to it and stared.

...And stared...

...And stared...

...And-

"Hey!" he whipped around to see a young woman standing behind him. "Careful with this, it is a valuable piece of equipment."

"Nani?"

She gestured towards the machine, "We're testing one of Masaki's inventions. This machine will actually allow a trainer to link up to computer boxes in Kanto to get their Pokemon."

"...Oh?..."

She smiled and softly said, "Masaki is a brilliant inventor, don't you think?"

"Of course!" Niiro lied. Actually, he had no idea who this 'Matsuko' was.

He jumped when he heard footsteps coming up the stairwell and the all-too-familiar ring of Officer Junsa's voice.

"Is there a boy up there with red hair?"

Before anybody even got the chance to respond, Niiro was off like a shot. He bounded across the room to the conveniently open window and flung himself out...

A young man was walking along the streets of Violet City. His teal-colored hair hanging down over one eye and a bounce of confidence in his stride. That is, until something stupid happened.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, came a black, red, and blue streak. It flew in from the tree line and smashed right into him, sending him sprawling.

Both the figure and the young man tumbled into the bushes outside the Zephyr Gym.

"Gah!"

"Chikushou!"

The figure, as it turned out was none other than Niiro Shiruba who had descended from his high-up encounter with Officer Junsa.

Niiro lay, winded, on top of the weird looking young man.

"Am I on a hidden camera show?"

"I'm Niiro, who the Hell are you?"

The young man lifted his upper body as much as he could with Niiro draped across him.

"I'm Hayato. What is your problem!? Do you think you can fly!?"

"Oh."

Niiro raised his head and looked up at Hayato. His face was hidden beneath a curtain of red hair, which was full of leaves and twigs. He reached down to his belt and pulled off his solitary PokeBall; a press of the button and it expanded to its full size.

"Fancy a Pokemon battle, Gym leader?"


	7. Chapter 7

****

Chapter 7

Life was a strange thing. All things lived, and all things died; returning to the Gaia from which they originally came.

All things were connected to the Gaia, the very life force of the Earth. 

It was the duty of this white kitten-like creature to monitor the lifestream.

Why did people kill each other? Why was there violence in the world? Why?

She was the Mother and she had an infinite soul. She was the Gaia incarnate. Still, she couldn't answer these questions.

...~...

Niiro walked into the monolithic stadium, following the teal-haired Gym Leader, Hayato.

This stadium had no roof, it simply lay beneath the infinite blue sky of which Hayato was so fond.

"This shall be a one on one Pokemon match!"

The sudden, loud shout knocked Niiro from his reverie. Part of him knew that only weaklings battled one on one. True masters knew that they had to level up their whole team. But...

...At the moment he couldn't think like that. After all, Niiro had no choice. He had only one Pokemon. Cyndaquil.

"The challenger is Niiro Shiruba of New Bark Town. At stake is the Zephyr Badge. Begin!"

"???"

Niiro was suddenly very confused. He had never been in a Gym battle before.

"...I...," he stuttered, "I choose-"

-There was a flash of light as Hayato tossed out his Pokeball.

"PIDGEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

-The sound of wings-A massive bird flying right for his face-

"GAH!"

Niiro threw himself flat as the foe Pokemon soared over him. It performed a few aerial stunts before landing back in front of Hayato.

"Hey!" shrieked Niiro, "Is your friend trying to bloody KILL ME!?"

The Gym Leader simply grinned and looked towards his charge. The bird looked rather like a Pidgey, only it's head feathers were longer. And it was considerably bigger.

Shiruba was so enthralled by the sight of this creature that he failed to notice the look of impatience that crossed its trainer's face.

"....Yoshi?...."

"Huh?"

Niiro blinked and looked up, meeting Hayato's gaze.

"Your POKEMON!?"

"Oh. Right."

He reached under his jacket and withdrew his own Pokeball, which he promptly pointed out towards the floor.

With a cry and small flash, out came Cyndaquil. She yawned and sat back.

"A Cyndaquil, huh?"

Hayato looked towards the unnecessarily large bird. "We should have the level advantage, Pidgeot"

"Pidge," said the Pokemon, nodding assent. Hayato looked back towards Niiro.

"Since this is your battle, Shiruba, I'll give you the first move."

"Huh?"

"GET EDUCATED!" hollered the Gym Leader, apparently at wit's end with his opponent. Niiro blinked. Hayato sighed. "Just...issue a command."

Niiro looked down at Cyndaquil. "Go, Cyndaquil! Hit it with your best Flamethrower attack!"

The fire echidna turned and blinked up at him.

"Quil?"

His heart sunk. "You don't know that move yet, do you, you worthless-"

"Lesson one, Shiruba," said Hayato, "Know your Pokemon. Pidgeot fly!"

The bird lifted off the ground, the slight wind from its wings being enough to blow Cyndaquil across the stadium. _I'm in **very** big trouble..._

"Pidgeot! Strike down that Cyndaquil with an aerial tackle attack!"

The thing folded back its wings and went into a dive bomb.

"RUN!"

Cyndaquil started scuttling back and forth across the floor, crying out as she went.

"Quil! Quil! Cynda-Cynda Quiiiiiiillll!!!!"

The Pidgeot was unable to strike a moving target, and collided with the floor beak first.

"Pidge-AH!"

It was stunned, but only for a moment before it scrambled back up onto its claws.

"Pidgeot! Hit it with a Quick Attack!"

The big bird nodded and shot off at a low flight across the stadium.

Suddenly, Niiro's eyes lit up as the gears in his head finally started turning and a plan began to formulate itself in his mind.

"Cyndaquil! Ember attack!"

The fire echidna was slow to respond, but not quite slow enough. The embers struck the Pidgeot just as it was almost on top of her, burning its eyes with a steamy hiss.

"Piiiiiiiddddddggggggeeeeeeeooooooooooooottttttooooooo!"

It started screaming and flapping about the arena, unable to see.

Hayato was stunned; Niiro was even more so. _My plan...worked...?_

The Pidgeot was driving itself into a frenzy, its trainer tried to pull it back into its Pokeball but the red recall beam was continuously missing.

This continued for quite a while, until it exhausted itself. By this time, Niiro was sitting on the floor and Cyndaquil was crouching beside him.

"Quil!"

The Pidgeot's wings were dragging and it could barely stand. Its eyes had been burned quite badly and it couldn't see.

"...Pidge..."

"One last Tackle attack, Cyndaquil!"

Cyndaquil charged forward and slammed the mighty bird

in the ribs. The attack from this low-level Pokemon did minimal damage and was just enough to make Pidgeot counter with Struggle.

Struggle it did, and sent Cyndaquil flying by wacking her with a wing knuckle.

*THWAK!*

The little flame echidna hung on by the skin of her teeth. Pidgeot moaned, as it was hit by Struggle's sudden recoil, and fell over.

"Pidgeeeeooo......"

A hushed silence filled the air between Hayato and Niiro. iI won...I actually-/i

"Pidgeot is unable to battle!" shouted the referee; "the victory goes to the challenger!"

"Pidgeot, return!" Finally, the recall beam hit its target. Hayato smiled down at the Pokeball. "You did well, Pidgeot. You deserve a good rest."

Niiro was unable to keep his oversized mouth shut. "What? Are you kidding me!? He just plain sucked out there!"

This was followed by another hushed silence as Niiro absorbed the fact that he had actually just said that out loud.

"I don't like you, Shiruba," said Hayato, "But...I am a Gym Leader. By the law of the Pokemon League I have to give you this. "

He handed Niiro a glistening, silver token. "That is the Zephyr Badge."

"Kakkoii"

Niiro turned the badge over in his hands, almost as if he half expected it to do something; like blow up in his grasp.

"Attached to that Badge is TM-31," sighed Hayato, "That would be Mud Slap. It is a ground-type attack."

"Why would a Flying Trainer have-"

"-It deals a small amount of damage while lowering your opponent's accuracy. Now, please. Go away. And don't screw up in your journey, you'll make me look like an idiot."

"Oh, you don't need my-Er...I mean...," Niiro stammered, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, man."

The flame-haired boy pivoted on his toes and recalled Cyndaquil.

"Return!"

As soon as he walked out of the Gym, he heard the sounds of policemen and angry voices coming from down by the Pokemon Center. Niiro groaned.

"...I hate my life..."


	8. Chapter 8

****

Chapter 8

__

Silence was all he knew. The young man, with his platinum blonde hair, stood before his Gym and looked wistfully up at the night sky.

Spirits were singing.

He closed his eyes and his heart beat in harmony with their voices.

Ghosts were all he could communicate with and they had taught him much about the meaning of Eternity; more than any mortal was ever meant to know.

But the young man was mute, detached from the living. With a graceful smile he gazed across Ecruteak and disappeared into the shadows.

Such was the way of Mystics.

...~...

Niiro had received a rather obscenely small amount of money for defeating Hayato. While he originally wanted to purchase food with it, he found himself walking into the PokeMart for a few balls.

The mart was as big as any small town Corner Store and just as busy. Three rows of shelves lined with chips and canned soup graced the center and a counter in the back held stocks of bubble gum and baseball cards.

Niiro saw a collection of Pokeballs behind the counter and approached the clerk with a sigh.

"Can I help you, miss?"

The clerk, a round man with a red face, eyed him suspiciously.

"Hai, I want three....Wait a minute...NANI?!"

He leaned forward, "I'm a BOY!"

The clerk waved a hand as if to fan away the smell of Niiro's breath.

"Karuson, very well. Can I help you?"

Niiro grinned, displaying his impossibly white teeth. "Hai, I need three Pokeballs"

"Thirty yen"

He fished around in the pockets of his jeans for a moment before forking over the only bit of cash that he had on his person.

"Here. Keep the change and put it towards liposuction"

The clerk half handed, half dropped the Pokeballs on Niiro as he yelled out obscenities, "DAMNABLE BOY! OUT OF MY SHOP!"

Niiro put the balls in his jacket pocket and was about to turn and leave when he felt a prick along the back of his neck that made his fiery hair stand on end.

Officer Junsa was outside, looking at him through the window. He knew this without even turning around. The Shiruba family had a rather unsavory history. Niiro's grandfather had been a drunk, his great uncle was infamous owner of a prostitution ring in Saffron City and his great aunt had been a member of Rocketto Dan. Though Niiro himself did not know this, his ancestors had passed unconscious memory down to him through what Freud referred to as the "id". 

Niiro was just naturally aware, therefore, of law officials watching him. He slowly turned and lifted his gaze...and there was Junsa. Their eyes locked and she suddenly moved for the door with a gun raised. Niiro acted with unnatural speed - the Mart door opened outwards, he rammed it with his shoulder as soon as he saw her blue hair and received a satisfying crunching sound as he barreled into the street.

The boy glanced back just long enough to catch of glimpse of blood-smeared glass and a police officer falling to the ground, clutching at her shattered nose.

...~...

As was usual, the woods were much more kind and accepting of Niiro's presence than the towns were. The Pidgeys didn't care about his stolen Cyndaquil or his assault of a police officer.

The only problem about Pidgeys was that they couldn't tell him which way to go, or where he was supposed to end up.

He cursed his miserable luck under his breath as he trudged through the undergrowth. If he had actually been a registered trainer, then, maybe he would have a map. He wasn't one, though, and had to make do with what he had...nothing.

While he was busy growling about life, Niiro saw something.

Two young people, a man with blue hair and a woman with red hair, exploded out of the trees with a Meowth flanking them.

Niiro balked when he saw the bright red Rs emblazoned on the fronts of their shirts.

"Well, well, Musashi what do we have here?"

The young man grinned evilly to the woman with the red hair, "Hmmm....I dunno, Kojiro. What do you think, Nyase?"

The Meowth looked up at Niiro through sly, golden eyes.

"Looks like a twerp trainer to me, guys..."

Niiro blinked and seriously considered drop-kicking this talking Meowth, whose existence surprised him perhaps much less than it logically should have.

"Twerp? Me?" he lifted his gaze towards the one called Musashi. "Who the Hell are you?"

They struck unseemly poses and rattled off a little rhyme.

"Sekai no heiwa o fusegu tame!" 

"Sekai no heiwa o mamoru tame!" 

"Ai to shinjitu no aku o turanuku!" 

"Lovely charmy no katati yaku!" 

"Musashi!" 

"Kojiro!" 

"Ginga o kakeru Rocketto Dan no futari niwa.." 

"White hall, shiroi ashita ga matteruze!" 

"Nya-nte Nya!" shouted the Meowth, almost as an afterthought. Niiro scowled. "Yeah...Listen, where is the nearest town?"

Kojiro scratched his head and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Wouldn't that be Azalea Town, Musa-chan?"

She lifted a fist and brought it down hard on her companion's skull.

"Baka! Silence!"

"We'll help ya get to da next town," said the Meowth, "If you give us all of yore Pokemon..."

Niiro smiled, "All one of them, you mean? What do you take me for? An idiot?"

"Don't make hurt you," Musashi warned.

Niiro fixed her with his piercing eyes. "Pain," was all he said in response.

Kojiro withdrew a Pokeball and prepared to throw it down.

"Go Wheez-AUUURGH!"

The ball flew through the air and landed in Niiro's hands. He was about to take it when he, too, realized what had made the Rocketto Dan'ni cry out. An enormous green bug with swords for arms shot past him like a bullet and soared between Kojiro and Musashi, slashing them across their cheeks as it did.

Both of them tumbled into Niiro, who dropped the Pokeball, which was instantly seized by its owner. The three bodies flailed about in the dirt, scaring a Rattata out of a nearbye bush.

"Yare!" Niiro yelped.

"Scyther! Scy!" the bug wheeled back into Kojiro and Musashi, they broke and raced deeper into woods.

"UXEITO!" shrieked the Meowth, tearing after them, "WAIT FOR NYASE!"

Niiro let out a breath of relief and covered his eyes with one arm.

"Scyther..."

Something climbed up on to his breast.

"Scyther, Scy"

He lowered his arm and saw the bug Pokemon staring down at him, there was a strange, glassy film over its eyes. Contact lenses?

"Nani?"

It stepped off him and gestured towards the foliage that the Rocketto Dan'ni had originally emerged from.

"Scyther, Scy, Scyther!"

"What's that, Lassie? Timmy burned down the barn?"

"SCYTHER!" It lifted a blade-like claw warningly.

"OKAY, OKAY!...Heh, I'm coming."

Niiro followed the Scyther, such as it was, into the brush. It led him to a...small boy leaning up against a rock as big as he was.

The boy had jaw-length purple hair and wore a tightly fitting green uniform. One eye was bruised, blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth and his left leg was twisted at an odd angle. A long handled net rested across his lap.

The boy looked up at Niiro and Scyther, a small grin sketching itself across his face.

"Scyther! You've found someone! Good! Return!"

The red beam shot out of nowhere, calling back the bug and making Niiro jump slightly.

"Why did that thing have contact lenses?"

"Nani? Oh...," the small boy winced, "those are color filters. Scythers go mad when they see the color red."

"...Ah..."

"I'm Tsukushi," said the boy, "I was jumped by Rocketto Dan on my way to Sprout Tower. They stole my Spinarak."

"Pity"

"Could you help me get there?"

Tsukushi held a tiny hand towards Niiro. "Please? I beseech you..."

Niiro blinked, "You 'beseech' me? Look, kid. I'm trying to get to Azalea Town to challenge the Gym Leader. I haven't got time to tote your pansy little ass around, got it?"

Tsukushi lowered his gaze, "You will never be able to challenge him if you don't help me..."

"Oh, really? Why not?"

"You'd get lost if you headed there alone. Rocketto Dan busted me up. I need legs, you need a navigator."

Niiro growled as he crouched and turned his back to the boy, retrieving the net as he did.

"Grrr..Fine! Here, wrap your arms around me. I'll piggy-back you to this tower of yours."

"Sankyu"

"But," he warned the boy, "Piss me off and you're waltzing off down Lollipop Lane by yourself, got it?"

"Hai"

"Where is this 'Sprout Tower', anyway?"

"Violet City"

"......"


	9. Chapter 9

****

Chapter 9

__

She ran...

The Tiger of Storms, feline Guardian of raging elements, flying through the undergrowth at a high speed, wind ripping around her golden fur.

Her bellowing roar brought the lightning, her teeth clashed like thunder. She was a cat.

She was free.

She was electricity...

...~...

"Is this it?"

Niiro Shiruba looked up at the tall building. It was wooden, with ivy climbing the sides and its very foundation vibrated with the energy of some major event, or training, taking place on the top floor. So tall was it, that Niiro had trouble identifying the apex of the roof against the night sky.

"Hai," whispered Tsukushi, still draped across the older boy's back. "Let's go..."

Niiro approached massive, oaken doors and was about to open them when he realized that his hands were too busy clinging to the Bug Catcher. Understanding the situation, Tsukushi reached out a thin arm and turned the brass door knob. A click of resistance came out in response.

"Locked"

"What?" asked Niiro, "the door?"

There was awkward silence.

"Non. The sandwich."

"...."

"Yes, the door! It looks like we'll have to wait until morning."

Niiro backed up a few steps and gazed down the street towards the Pokemon Center. There were still flashing lights in that sector of the town.

"I.....Don't think so."

He charged the door and slammed it with his shoulder, busting the barricade on the other side and stumbling into the chamber beyond. Tsukushi yelped as he fell from Niiro's back and landed on his chest.

The room was filled with chanting and Bellsprout. A wooden pillar in the middle of the chamber shook under the activity of the top floor; scattered around it were men with shaved heads swathed in multicolored robes. What caught Niiro's attention most of all were the Bellsprout, strange, vine-like creatures with bell-shaped heads. They moved and danced to the rhythms of the tower's vibration.

"Can....we help you?"

"Nani?"

The boy turned and noticed a man hulking over him, obviously curious about these midnight intruders who had come in without bothering to knock. "Not really. I just came as his escort." Niiro pointed at Tsukushi who was curled in the fetal position on the floor, sobbing with pain. The sage rushed to the small boy's side and attempted to help him to his feet. "Master Tsukushi?

With a moan, Tsukushi went limp in the man's arms.

"Wh-Wh-What have you done to him!?" the sage's shouts were frightening. Niiro drew back.

"Nothing! Rocketto Dan broke his legs...He wanted to come here, I-"

He found himself speaking to empty air as the sage walked off with the unconscious boy, not even waiting for Niiro to finish speaking.

"Okaaaaaay, never mind."

Since there was not much else to entertain himself with, Niiro decided to climb the Tower. A female sage stopped him in front of the stairwell, a structure hewn right into the wood. "A giant Bellsprout is said to have been the center of this Tower in the days of old. We train hard all day but this place keeps standing."

"I'm happy for you."

She glanced up the stairs, "That boy you traveled with looked like he was in a lot of pain. You say he was jumped by Rocketto Dan?"

Niiro neatly sidestepped the trap in this question. "I dunno. I followed his Scyther to him. That's all."

"I see. Perhaps he wished to speak to our Elder. He's a very wise man that has Flash HMs...," Niiro's natural ability to phase out kicked in as somebody with a bruised face and blue hair walked in through the splintered door. Officer Junsa.

"...Can even tame a rabid HootHoot if he tries."

"Kakkoii"

Niiro raced up the stairs and immediately regretted it. He was in the Prayer Chamber. A myriad of people with shaved heads and colored robes were kneeling before a gigantic, golden statue of a Bellsprout. Their voices rose in song, filling the air with a haunting echo.

"Moken mo chu. Nyakken nyorai. Jo zai fu-metsu.

Ben ki kyoshi. Ni e endai. Fu no sho o. Nan-zo shi so.

Kugyo shi shin. Ze ko nyorai. I hoben setsu....."

Niiro had been raised a Buddhist, but only half way. He didn't bother to memorize anything beyond the familiar "Myo ho ren ge kyo" rephrase. Nevertheless, he needed to hide and he could hear Officer Junsa climbing the stairs, her heavy footfalls echoing in his brain. He crawled in amongst the sages, pressed his forehead to the floor and took to the prayer like a quadriplegic dwarf in a lead helmet to water.

The officer climbed the stairs, briefly scanned the scene with her dark blue eyes, and then retreated back to the first floor with a huff. Everybody lifted their heads as the gong in the back of the room was struck three times. Niiro, always the last to figure things out, was the last to sit up. The sages stared at him.

"....What?..."

The prayer leader looked at him in a bored fashion.

"When did you get here, boy?"

"Er...a few seconds ago?"

This aroused a bout of laughter from the other sages.

"......."

"Are you at all familiar with the prayers of Nichiren Daishonin?"

"This sucks" said the boy eloquently as he climbed to his feet. He dusted off his jeans and continued up the stairs in the back of the chamber, feeling the eyes of the sages burning into him the whole way.

Tsukushi had awoken with a pain in his broken legs but found himself ultimately enjoying an intellectual conversation with the Elder Sage nevertheless.

He was leaning back against the base of a mahogany Bellsprout statue, the Elder Sage sitting before him on the floor, lotus style. Both were sipping tea.

"It is good to see you again, Master Tsukushi."

The boy winked playfully and placed the blue china cup back on the floor. "It is good to see this place again. But I haven't come here completely for a social call. A man named Yukito has usurped Azalea Town and cut off access to our water source at the Slowpoke Well."

The Elder, an old man in a silken, turquoise robe, sat back

"Hai...I have heard of this man. From what I hear he isn't a man to be trifled with."

"I know," said Tsukushi, "It's just that - Niiro, stop harassing that Bellsprout. NIIRO!? When did you get here!?"

Niiro looked up from his apparent reenactment of the Spanish Inquisition on the hapless Grass-type.

"A few minutes ago." 

It was true, Niiro had come up the stairs and saw his reluctant companion conversing with the Elder Sage. He had been at a conversational disadvantage, clueless as he was in regards to the topic of discussion. But now that he had brought the dialogue to a halt it seemed like as good a time as any to pop his question.

"Listen, some lady downstairs said something about a 'Flash HM'?"

"Yes, I give those to wise trainers who defeat me in battle."

"Then I challenge-"

The sage lifted a wrinkled hand. "I was actually talking to someone before you interrupted."

"It's okay," said Tsukushi. "Just do as he requests or he'll never leave."

With a disgruntled sigh, the Sage rose and threw forward a Pokeball. "Go, Bellsprout!"

Niiro shook his head, "What kind of person trains Bellsprout? I choose you, Cyndaquil!"

He summoned his only Pokemon, who materialized on to the battlefield with a yawn. 

"Ember!"

Once was all it took. The small flames engulfed the weaker creature, taking it down in a single hit. Niiro grinned smugly as his opponent recalled the Bellsprout.

"In what world could a grass trainer ever beat me?"

The Elder Sage looked at him with severe irritation and a little distress. "There is more to being a trainer than power, young one. Understand that it's the Pokemon who are battling. Not you."

He tossed out another ball. What appeared out of this one was a round bird with huge eyes. It blinked at Niiro and shifted its weight from one foot to the other.

"HootHoot! Fly up!"

The bird took to the air and Niiro sighed as memories of the battle against Hayato came flooding back into his skull.

"Good grief. Cyndaquil, stand your ground!"

"Dive"

The HootHoot went into a dive, its sharp beak flickered in the light of the wax candles illuminating the room.

"Don't let it hit you, you stupid-!!!!"

Cyndaquil puffed smoke into the bird's eyes. It flew off course and crashed into the Bellsprout statue, narrowly missing Tsukushi's head.

"What was that?" Niiro mused aloud, "Smokescreen? I totally forgot that-"

"Tackle!"

The half-stunned HootHoot fluttered towards Cyndaquil who ducked down and scorched it with the flame on her back.

"HootHoot! Return." 

The Elder Sage recalled the owl-like creature and sighed at Niiro, passing him a strange device that looked like a computer chip attached to a silver button.

"That is HM05, Flash. It will blind opponents and light up dark rooms. Listen, you have talent as a trainer, but talent isn't everything. Training is an art, learn to work _with_ your Pokemon. Then, and only then, will you become a true master."

Niiro narrowed his emerald eyes and set his head to the side. "Why should I take advice from you, old man? I beat you..."

"Niiro?"

He turned abruptly and saw a shorter boy, in gold and red with a backward cap on. It was Hiro Kogane. Niiro gazed at him with the same, detached curiosity that was often reserved for people who made a spectacle of themselves in public.

"Hiroshi Kogane...,"he partially closed his eyes, "This guy preaches about kindness towards Pokemon. Heh, what an easy win. Show me strong Pokemon and I'll show you a strong trainer. Let the weak rot away in their inferiority. See ya, squirt."

He brushed past his rival and exited room, leaving it in a state of awkward silence once more.


End file.
